Training Posts

Congratulations to Ben Brummer! He has successfully completed training to become a certified Straubinger Pad Technician. These pads are specifically designed to be used in higher end professional flutes and require specialized training.

THE STRAUBINGER PAD CERTIFICATION TRAINING is an intensive three-day course, designed specifically to cover the concepts, methods of application, and procedures required to install Straubinger™ Pads correctly. This very specific training is designed exclusively for experienced repairmen.

Next month we are sending two Technicians out to Yamaha’s facility for some specialized “Shokunin” training. In March we are sending a Technician out for certification on installing Straubinger flute pads. And in April we will be sending four of our technicians to the yearly convention of the National Association of Professional Band Instrument Repair Technicians (NAPBIRT) to attend multiple seminars and training sessions.

We aren’t required to do this. We choose to regularly send our technicians out to training seminars throughout the year to keep up on the latest and greatest techniques, tools and new materials that may well improve the services we provide on maintaining your instruments. We constantly better ourselves and our methods to pass them on to you, our customers, for a better, more comprehensive repair.

We believe that this approach aligns with our vision as a company; Our vision is for every student to reach his or her potential through the positive, life-changing power of making music. We believe in that vision so strongly that we devote all of our energy, passion and resources to serving and strengthening music education across Indiana.

If we rest on our laurels and depend on “the way we’ve always done it” or perform “band-aid” repairs to get you by, we’re failing that vision, and more importantly, the teachers and the students.

You can count on us to be thorough and complete in the service that we perform and advice that we offer so that students can practice and perform on instruments that perform reliably for a long time to come.

A couple of months ago we talked about how we’re always learning in our repair shop to keep up with the latest trends and techniques in instrument repair. In late April, I was able to attend yet another key event in the life of a repair technician.

This year the annual NAPBIRT (National Association of Professional Band Instrument Technicians) finds us in Albuquerque NM. There are almost 300 technicians attending this year in order to learn about new techniques, methods and materials used in the repair of your instruments.

Two weeks ago, three of our technicians were invited out to Yamaha, in California for some specialized technical training. Tim Roethler, Spencer Guyer and Brad Rubin were attending. Which then brings up the issue of technician training in general.